Most Expensive Player Transfers in English Football – up to August 2006

Andriy Shevchenko’s move from AC Milan to Chelsea, at an estimated £30 million, headed the list of the top ten most expensive player transfers in English football – up to August 2006. Next came Rio Ferdinand’s transfer from Leeds to Manchester United (£29.1m), and third was Juan Sebastian Veron (28.1m Lazio to Man U).

Of the top ten transfers all were to Chelsea or Manchester United.

Top 10 Money Earning Clubs in Champions League 2004-05

Liverpool headed the list of the Top 10 Money Earning Clubs in the 2004/05 running of the UEFA Champions League. They were the champions that year (winning for the 5th time when counting the European Cup as the tournaments predecessor) whilst runners-up AC Milan came third in the table, pushed down by Chelsea who earned more via broadcasting revenues.

Four English clubs were in the top ten table, two German and one each from Italy, Spain, France and Holland.

Top 20 Highest-Earning Players in World Football 2004

Source: France Football magazine. The figures presented are based on estimates of salary plus commercial earnings. In 2004, Frank Lampard was ranked the highest paid player by wages alone (at £5.17 million per season) although he only ranked sixth when commercial earnings were added. Marketing machine David Beckham headed the list with significant earnings from image rights and lucrative sponsorship deals with the likes of Adidas, Vodaphone, Brylcreem and Diesel.

Top Wage Earners in English Premier League – as of August 2004

Roy Keane of Manchester United headed this list of the top twenty two wage earners in the English Premier League – as of August 2004. It was estimated that he earned £100,000 a week, some £10,000 ahead of second-placed Stevie G of Liverpool FC. Michael Owen, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Frank Lampard were all estimated at £80,000 per week. Nice work if you can get it.

Total Transfer Expenditure by English Football Clubs – 1992-2004

Football Transfer fees rose by over 400 per cent in the 12 year period covered by this table. The substantial fall recorded in 2003 was reversed in 2004 with gross spending of over £400m – largely driven by Chelsea FC.

In 2004, the amount of transfer fees leaving the English game to overseas football clubs and agents was a record at £263m.

Fees Paid to Agents by Coca-Cola Championship Clubs in 2004

A list of clubs in the English Coca Cola Championship and their payments to agents and number of player deals in 2004. Leeds United were the biggest spenders and were the only club to outlay more than £1 million. Other clubs spending over a quarter of a million pounds were: Derby County, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Leicester City, West Ham United and Sunderland.

At the other end of the scale, Crewe Alexandra spent nothing and Watford £2,000 – less than Elton John’s monthly bill for flowers and posies.

Transfer Spending by English Premier League Clubs in 2004

List of the twenty Premier League clubs in 2004 comparing amounts spent during 2004 vs 2003. Figures are in £ million.

Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea spent almost double their nearest competitor, Manchester United, and three-times that of the next ranked club, Liverpool, while the two clubs at the bottom of the list did not break £1 million.